Battling for Oneness - Sarah and Ivan

Nestled in a valley in the Andean range of Venezuela lies Merida; this is where Sarah “Sage” Miller and Ivan Bucher are leading a STINT Team. Sarah writes, “The view from the Sciences campus for example is awe inspiring. It is literally surrounded by mountains!”

Their team has been in Merida almost seven weeks now. The movement they've stepped into is pretty exciting to see too! Their team is holding weekly meetings where about 45 students have been attending regularly. Many of these same students are involved as disciples or are actively discipling others, having been with the movement for a couple years, and some will be praying about being sent in the near future as graduation draws closer. They had our first outreach yesterday (Tuesday). They put up a sign asking "Do you want a date...?" and then talked about how to have a "date" or a relationship with Jesus Christ. The team talked to about 200 students and got to explain how to have this "date" with at least 25 students. Today they are doing the same thing on another campus.

Sarah also writes, “It has been awesome to see how Ivan and I have come together as a team of leaders. We had a bit of a rough start trying to figure out how to work and plan together, to the extent of having our very first conflict and mediated conflict resolution time about the third day of briefing in Colorado!” (Here’s a re-enactment of that day in Copper Mtn.) It continued to be rough for the first week or two here, but I feel like now we are really learning to understand and appreciate each other. It has been great to see how we are on the same page and can support each other in dealing with team conflicts and other issues as they arise. It is so wonderful to know that you have someone ‘on your team’ like that.” Continuing the theme of team, Ivan says, “The most obvious thing I'm learning is that my team is my family. This is a family culture and people share everything; especially food. We get together for a team breakfast Monday through Friday at the girl's apartment and then have dedicated prayer before heading off to campus. This has proven a challenge since the implication is that we do this together out of our love for the team. But the idea of team seems very work-focused in my mind, and it's hard to remember that love is the top priority when you're thinking about reaching goals. The reality we come from in the States is not necessarily that of a ‘close’ family, especially with any prayerful involvement in each other's lives, and so the idea of living with your ‘team’ makes the stretch even farther, in my opinion. The idea of team as family makes it easier to remember that I do love them first and foremost, always recalling that above all else I am called to love these teammates over anything that could disrupt our unity; our witness in Christ.”

Ivan included John 17:19-23 NASB:
"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

About this passage he says, “Christ set Himself apart by going to the cross. He was betrayed and He still went there. We as a team and family are always being betrayed, and we must choose to die to all sin, especially that which is so obviously against us, because we are now perfect in Christ. By acknowledging Christ's sacrifice we stay free from this world and unified in love because our glory is His. Glory is fully revealed on the cross, and only the cross. ‘Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends’ (Jn 15:13).”

I don’t think I have any profound thing to add to Ivan and Sarah’s thoughts on team as what they share is gold. Just a reminder that it’s a battle to be one and remain one. Like you need to be reminded of that. The meaning of Jn 17:11 is that we ‘continually be one’. Every day, every moment there is a battle to go it alone… to not be one… to not be a team… to not dive into resolving conflict… to giving up… to not strive to be a family, a real family and not to choose to lay down our lives for another. Let's don’t give up the flight.

Sort of a Div III version of Cal Vs Stanford

Neighbor's Blog

I was visiting mybloglog to see who had been visiting my blogs of late. (I like to track especailly STINT Leaders the day after I post my weekly devotion there and after I email the leaders with a teaser to see if any are actually reading it or not.)



Anyway, I noticed someone came to this blog yesterday from Bailey's Castle and I noticed that low and behold it's our next door neighbors - Noah and Casey. Who knew?

Unmasked - Paul and Jessica

Paul Myers and Jessica Tekawa are framing a map of Japan. This month and the first two weeks in November - every day from 10 pm to 11 pm either individually or with just a few others - their team and all the Japanese campus staff are praying for a different prefecture in Japan and for the CCC staff there. Jessica says, “It's been an awesome way to learn about the needs of each area of Japan and also to pray with my teammates/roommates before going to bed. Our team really wants to be a team of prayer and evangelism this year and it's sweet to be able to start off that way with the rest of the staff as well.”

There are actually two STINT teams in Tokyo this year. Their first week on campus was a ‘Fill the Feast’ week. Paul and Jessica did this based on the ‘Evangelism Motivators’ that Dusty and Allison Hoffman gave us in Korea. (Even though I think Jessica took a nap during that session based on her notes.) At the same time, they were doing the ‘Building a Biblical Basis for Evangelism’ from the Playbook. Jessica shares that the first day they were on campus she was experiencing a lot of fear and nervousness. Maybe it was because the very campus she was on was one where last year she was told that if they didn't leave the administration would call the police. Jessica writes that she is very aware of her need to renew her mind with Truth every day and almost every moment.

Amidst the warfare, Paul and Jessica’s team have met a lot of students who are open and really genuinely seem interested in the gospel, but aren't faithful in meeting back with them. Last week five students indicated that they would want to pray to receive Christ but they needed time to think. One was Chinese international student named Li Weh who actually did pray to receive Christ. Each of the four other students (Koki, Tomoka, Yuki and Mari) either cancelled their appointments or the team couldn't get a hold of them which was, as you can imagine, discouraging. They are planning a Halloween party outreach and the theme is ‘The Masks We Wear’. “Many Japanese put up a false front and it's recognized even among the students we talk to so we're going to have a short time to talk about what it means to ‘unmask’ and to have the Truth set us free,” Jessica explains.

That theme makes me consider the masks that I wear. I don't know about you but I tend to protect myself. Paul (not Myers but the Apostle) unmasked himself in 1 Timothy: “… Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Paul writes that he was chief among sinners… top of the list or I guess bottom of the list… world champion of sinners. Not past tense, present. Instead of being discouraged and throwing a pity party, it drew Paul into a life of incredible gratitude. He knew his position in Christ. He knew his role as apostle to the Gentiles. God had called the worst dude imaginable to be a living display of the depth of his unlimited patience and mercy.

What if I saw myself as chief of sinners? What if I lived every day like I need the gospel? Not needed but need. Yes I know my position is secure but what if I lived unmasked screaming to the world, "I desperately need today Jesus because I am the worst of sinners"?

I think if I (and all of us) lived every day like this some things would happen. I think we would be safe. We would be so overwhelmed by our need for grace and mercy that we could never sit in the judgment seat for others. I think we would be overwhelmed with gratitude. I think we as broken vessels would shine forth the light of the gospel. We would believe that God could transform anyone. We would not try to perform and win approval of others because we know we can’t. We would not be afraid to empower others to lead because if God can use me the worst sinner, He can use anyone. We would live a life of worship and gratitude because he came into the world to save sinners among whom I am the worst and in the greatest need of his unlimited patience, mercy and forgiveness.

We Need a Chart

If you have ever had a two-year old, think of what's that was (or is) like and multiply by 2. Or think of what it was like when your two-year old played with another two-year old. That's life for us everyday.

Actually its a fun stage. The biggest challenge is settling disputes. We tend to fight a couple of battles over and over again. One is 'Ta'. 'Ta' is a stuffed dog that once was Luke's. He got it for his 1st birthday and while learning to say dog called it 'Ta' so we did as well. (The pic is not 'Ta' but one I pulled off google imagine search. He sorta looks like 'Ta'.) 'Ta' had long since lost his prominent place in the family over stuffed frogs, rubber snakes and the like. I found him in a storage bin and felt sorry for him. "Oh Ta!". So I made the mistake of giving him to Jack and Drew. Now every night we have to remember who last slept with 'Ta' and give him to the other son.

Then there's car seats. For some reason the car seat in the back of the van is preferred by Jack and Drew over the one on the 2nd row behind the passenger seat. So we have to take turns in who gets the 'tiny' car seat. Now both are the same size but for some reason the one in the back is the 'tiny' one. So one rides in it on the way to somewhere (like yesterday going to church for instance) and the other brother gets it on the way back. Jack tried to trick me yesterday but I remembered.

One day recently Robin heard Drew say while sitting in the 'Tiny' car seat, "Drew, ride back home in tiny car seat." They know even when we don't.

Saturday Jobs

Today was a full one of jobs around the house. In our garden level, Robin wanted me to remove the carpet. You might remember that we had plumbing disaster in June. That room has smelled ever since. I was to remove the not the whole carpet but the part on the 1/2 of the family room that got wet. Actually I had removed the carpet a few weeks ago but the underpad was still there. So this morning, I started removing the underpad and the tackless strips around the edges.

Now tackless strips is really a stupid name. What they are are two rows of wood strips about 2 inches wide with rows of very sharp tacks sticking up. The boards are nailed and glued to the concrete floor. I hear they are called tackless strips because using these "tackless strips" means you don't need to "tack" carpet down. But, I have tack holes in my hand from accidentally laying my hand on the first strip I started to remove. So I can personally vouch that they are not 'tackless'.

I took both a hammer and rubber hammer along with a flatbar nail remover. It took me a while to get the hang of the method. After tacking my own hand, I grabbed a pair of gloves and some goggles. Once I did that, I was whacking pretty hard with rubber hammer and the job went much faster.

I took the shop-vac and cleaned up. Then I laid down a rug and put a bunch of toys and the train table int hat area. Then I made the other half of the family room like a little den. It doesn't look so bad if I say so myself.

Later this afternoon, my neighbor Noah and I got ready for the coming snow. While I was removing nails and wood, he went out and bought us each a bag of fertilizer. (I need to remember to pay him for mine.) Then he let me use his spreader. Robin had gone to a ladies' spa for the afternoon so I had all three boys. Jack ad Drew played in the yard and Luke was my gofer. Then I watered the lawn and then Noah and I blew out our sprinklers around 6 or so. Actually Noah did most of the work and it was his compressor we used. I was his gofer.

(Noah is a great neighbor. He and his wife Casey are the ones who gave us the playground equipment.)

So my arms are really tired (and the holes still hurt). But all in all a good day of work.

A New Number

Yesterday, Luke's class went on a field trip to the Lafayette fire station. I asked what would have happened if while he was there an alarm went off and they asked him to come with them to help fight a fire and then when they got to the burning building they needed him to go in since he was small enough to go into the hole.

This launched Luke excitedly into an imaginative story involving him and a classmate Ethan fighting fires. In the midst of it, he said that the fire was 'a pavilion times hotter'. I asked if he meant a 'million or billion times'. Robin from the other room informed me that 'pavilion' was a number Luke created. Luke let me know, "it's more than infinity."

Then I thought, "why not?" If a pavilion is an open-air shelter or tent and the root is from Latin pāpiliō, pāpiliōn- for butterfly or tent, (i.e. no boundaries, limitless, transforming...) then why not? Sounds better than infinity times hotter.

Especially if the building burning down was a pavilion.

Bondslaves of Christ - Allen and Desiree

Allen Williams and Desiree Heckmann are prepping for an early Halloween in Barbados. Their team is on week 7 on campus and week 8 1/2 in country. However they've only been together as a full team for a little over a month. One of their Caribbean team members had to unexpectedly leave to go home for a week for a family emergency and so they've been just recently coming together as a full team. They are learning how to be united - working on understanding each other and loving each other. "It's been a challenge with all the adjustments continually happening but God has taught us a lot about flexibility and grace in each other's lives," Desiree writes.

She goes on to say, "We're also beginning to go deeper with our students. We have 7 established Community Groups (i.e. cell groups/Bible Studies) and they are going fairly well. However we are having challenges getting the student leaders to commit and own the ministry. Barbados is an interesting movement because they had a STINT team here 2 years ago and then 2 Caribbean guys 'stinting' this past year and now a full team again. So in some ways we're having to restart a lot of ministry things but we also have past experiences to deal with. It is taking a lot of wisdom and discernment and we're definitely making our share of mistakes but God is faithful and we are working on being humble and hopefully at the end of these challenges the student leaders and staff will be more united in purpose and mission and strengthened in Christ."

As leaders Allen and Desiree are learning how to lead well together, communicate and help meet the needs of our team. Desiree says, "Sometimes we feel like we have no idea how to help launch a movement but the great part is that God is faithful and He is moving incredibly in the Caribbean. We've already seen 10 people except Christ. Follow up is more of a challenge but we are working on being persistent with students while continuing to sow widely."

Recently I have been studying Galatians. I was struck by this passage in chapter 1 the NAS: "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." Several times Paul refers to himself as a bond-servant, servant, or slave of Christ. ( as did Mary, Peter, Jude, John, etc.)

Paul's mindset on who he lived and worked for affected where he went and how he went. When Paul writes that for him to live is Christ and to die is gain or that he counts everything he has accomplished as rubbish in light of gaining Christ, he is writing as a slave to Christ. When he writes that he has been crucified with Christ and he no longer lives but Christ lives in him, he is explaining his life in terms of being a bond-servant of Christ. In Acts 21 when people are pleading with him not to go to Jerusalem and he responds by saying, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus," Paul is declaring that he is a bondslave to Christ.

Just thought I'd share a few more ways this is lived out... I will start with the obvious from this passage in Gal 1:10...

* A bond-servant no longer strives to please men or women or himself. He lives to seek God's favor.
* A bond-servant says, "may it be done to me according to your word." - Luke 1:38
* A bond-servant empties herself in humility the way Christ did. - Phil 2:7
* A bond-servant is not quarrelsome, but be kind to all. She is able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition. - 2 Timothy 2:24, 25
* A bond-servant sees himself as set apart for the gospel. - Rom 1:1
* A bond-servant faithfully proclaims the gospel of truth. - Col 1:6, 7
* A bond-servant doesn't preach herself. - 2 Cor 4:5
* A bondslave of Jesus Christ always labors earnestly for his disciples and team in his prayers. - Col 4:12
* A bondslave of God doesn't use her freedom to cover up evil. She honors all people, loves the family of God, fears God, and honors the king. - 1 Peter 2:16, 17

May we all shackle ourselves to Christ today.

October Letter

This is our October newsletter... oct 2007.pdf.

It has some qucik updates from three of our teams servign internationally. I also share about beign a volunteer with Global Media Outreach and some of the emails I have gotten of late.

Some of the 'family news' is a little redundant if you read our blog but I realzie not everyone who gets our letter reads our blog

Animal Senses

My buddy Matt wrote about how birds can see magnetic fields. I was going to post a comment but this to too good just save on a buried among all the comments he gets on his blog...

"Yeah wouldn't it be cool to have a few extra senses that animals have like infrared vision that owls and deer have or electroception like sharks do. Or maybe a new superhero with those like Owlman or Sharkboy? 'How did you see me Owlman and how do make your head spin like that?' 'Foiled again by Sharkboy and his ability to my avoid my tasers! I'll get you yet you rubbery cartilage, Elasmobranchii'"

Then I looked for a google image to go with this and realized there already is a Shark Boy. Foiled again by Mikalatos!

My Cubicle

I really have my own office and not a cubicle but thought this was funny.

Bathing this Year in Prayer - Shannon and Richard

Shannon Minter and Richard Bean, who clearly are proud of their alma mater, have been in a certain Middle East country for a month now. Their team is pioneering the work on two very prestigious universities that draw students from all over the Middle East. God has opened a window through these two schools to impact the entire Middle East!

They were told coming in that there would be very hard ground here—although there are very devout students there – they have met many spiritually interested students especailly in the last few weeks as classes have bgun. Some of these studsents have already asked to study the Bible with them. Shannon writes, “Students have invited us into their homes, which is a big deal here—they’re letting us into their hearts when they do! God has provided so many opportunities to share Christ. … Many students here are willing to talk about faith. We get away with asking a lot of questions about pretty much anything here too because we are foreigners and they are so hospitable! We are trusting God for big things here as we are sowing seeds broadly. We are hoping for several multipliers to be raised up this year and for many more students to come to know the Lord!”

On a personal and team front, Richard and Shannon’s team has faced some challenges. Already there have been times there when they have not been sure they would be there the following week—due to the political situation, ability to get their residency cards, etc. Shannon says, “We are trying to trust God in the midst of such uncertainty. Our attitudes and plans must always be very flexible here. Please pray for our continued safety/security of our ministry and for regional stability. We are bathing this year in prayer—there are times when there is nothing else we can do! God has been faithful, and we are continually blown away by what He is doing in student’s hearts as well as our own! And, swimming in the Mediterranean isn’t so bad either.”

Sometimes as leaders we find ourselves chillin’ at Club Med as things are going swimmingly and then there are times as Shannon writes that the only thing we can do is bathe in prayer. Maybe that prayer bathtub is not just for those times when there is nothing else we can do but perhaps that’s the best place to be, the only place to be … clinging desperately to Him no matter the circumstances.

One of my favorite passages is in Luke 18. Luke writes that Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. It’s a parable about a widow. She is in a desperate situation. She has no hope. Her only hope is changing the heart of a unjust judge - a judge who acknowledges that he doesn’t care about people or fear God. She pleads. She doesn’t give up. She won’t take no for answer. She can’t take no for an answer. She keeps coming back; begging, pleading, and bothering this judge until he acts.

Then Jesus concludes his parable with, "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Remember, Jesus told this so that as his disciples we always pray and not give up. One of my co-workers commented on this passage once that we don’t give up when we fully believe that God is not like this judge. I would add that we don’t give up when we fully believe we are like this widow. We have to come to believe that we are in a desperate need of Him every day. We are without hope unless He shows up. I guess if we believed both of these truths - God is not like this judge and we are like this widow - then we would pray at all times without giving up. I know my prayer life doesn't relect this type of belief.

I posted a quote on my personal blog from today. "The leader who doesn't feel pressed to the wall often is not involved in a work that is advancing sufficiently against the forces of darkness. But the burned-out leader has allowed the intensity and exhaustion of his calling to take away the pleasure of hope. Every leader is desperately in need of hope, but two factors entangle us: unlimited need and expanding opportunity. And those factors do their best to extinguish hope."

You are involved in this type of work. You need the pleasure of hope. Jesus ends the telling of this parable of the Persistent Widow by asking if He will find faith on earth when he returns. We know the definition: “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” But do we really know it? Do we look at our situation and not really believe that it is so desperate? Do we give up praying because it seems like God is not acting or if He does it doesn’t seem to be as quick as we’d like? And yet the promise is there in black and white - or perhaps red letters in your bible. Jesus said, “Will not God...”.

Our faith is expressed in pleading, in continuing to come, in not giving up… in a desperate prayer bath.

Leading with a Limp

I have been reading Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender of late. Embarrassingly, I received it as a gift - like everyone on my team - from my director back in February. I still haven't finished it.

I could say it got neglected as our family came back from that time and suddenly we were into two months of packing, cleaning, selling, buying, closing, moving out, living in friends' basements and cabins, closing again, moving in, fixing problems, going to Korea ....

Hey maybe I do have an excuse for not reading this... though I know I read other books in the Spring and Summer. Maybe it was the color of the cover.

But then I heard Dan Allender this summer and bought and read another of his books and so I picked back up this gift last month that had been gathering dust on the shelve. Even now as I read it I find myself needing more time to mull things over and I have started and finished several other books in between starting Leading with a Limp.

This morning on the bus to work, I started reading chapter 9, "Worn to the Nub: the Exhaustion and Disillusionment that introduce True Hope". I think I still in the exhaustion and disillusionment part of the chapter but I read a quote that really hit home to me...

"The leader who doesn't feel pressed to the wall often is not involved in a work that is advancing sufficiently against the forces of darkness. But the burned-out leader has allowed the intensity and exhaustion of his calling to take away the pleasure of hope. Every leader is desperately in need of hope, but two factors entangle us: unlimited need and expanding opportunity. And those factors do their best to extinguish hope."

Maybe this would be some good stuff to share with STINT Leaders (of course focusing on the hope.) It's Wednesday and I need to do my weekly post over there.

At Boulder Falls

Yesterday we went for a little family outing. We drove to Boulder Falls, the toward Nederland and along the Peak to Peak highway and then down to Lyons where we had a late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants - Cilantro Mary's.

We were about a week late on the leaves and most were past peak color. Still a fun day.

The boys talked the rest of the day and into today about the falls and the tunnel we drove through.

(This also fulfills the request for hair photos.)

I will be the one wearing a Hat

Yesterday morning, I told Robin that I was going to get a haircut. She said she would cut it for me.

It was a struggle in my soul. On one hand I like going to Sportsclips because i can watch Sports while getting a haircut. We don't have cable so I could go in the afternoon and watch the Rockies and Phillies playoff game.

On the other hand, our finances have been a little tight of late. Ever since the plumbing disaster in June, when we have come to the end of the month and start of a new one, there hasn't seemed to be much margin. And we have a long list of things that need to be fixed that we have no money to spend on. So by having Robin cut my hair would save us a little money that we need for things like food, diapers, paying the electric bill, bringing out an electrician to fix the wiring that I tried to fix, etc.

I still was weighing the pros and cons and leaning toward Sportsclips and watching the game so I drove to work rather than taking the bus. But my boss called me as I was pulling out of the office parking lot in the afternoon and I got distracted and forget about going by Sportsclips.

When I walked in the house, I saw Jack and Drew's haircuts and remembered Robin's offer. So I asked if after dinner she would cut mine. Thus the evening family entertainment was daddy getting his hair cut out on the deck as the boys watched.

I should have examined Jack and Drew's a little more closely....

Long story short... I think I will sacrifice a lunch or two in the future in order to get a better haircut. Or perhaps instead of Huggies we could use an old newspaper for a diaper. That would serve a dual purpose. Jack and Drew get a diaper and learn to read at the same time.

Seeing Robin's handiwork in the mirror that usally sits next to the fishbowl to trick our fish Salty into thinking he is not alone, I did an impulsive thing and thought 'the only way to fix this is to buzz it down'. So my hair is completely buzzed like it was when Robin and I first met almost 10 years ago.

So that's another way to avoid spending $12. I guess I can afford to give the boys real diapers this morning.

Shoot, I just realized that I need to renew my passport and for the next 10 years my mug will have this cut.

Realistic Expectations - Chas and Grace

This is a pic of Chas Bailey (brown shirt in the middle) and Grace Wilson (front row to the right of Chas) and their Novi Sad, Serbia team. Novi Sad is situated along the Danube upstream from Belgrade. Loosely translated, “Novi Sad” means “new growth”. Chas, Grace and their team believe this name, Lord willing, will be prophetic to the abundant new life experienced there and throughout Serbia in the coming years.

Chas writes: “One thing that our team has been praying for as we were preparing for this year is that God would do some incredible miracles through us.” They are asking God to bring about exponential growth and to see 100 new believers this year. Considering they are starting off this year after two years of STINT and four summer projects with just 4 involved believers, this is huge faith; faith that initially caused people to question Chas’ math as he tried to explain the growth.

In response Chas wrote: “Considering it’s been 5 years since I solved a math assignment in a textbook, your doubts (in my math ability) are well founded. That being said, I will offer in my defense a few examples of the type of math that I think God prefers and on which I am basing my theory. ‘When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ ‘Twelve’, they replied. And: He saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this woman has put in more than all the others.’ One more: ‘Now to him is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.’ Now I am not a mathematician or a theologian, so explaining the amalgamation of these phenomena in the Divine will be understandably impossible. (Sounds like he is an English major though.) But that only proves my point. We humbly and boldly are believing our infinite God for the impossible: the rescue of souls from the kingdom of darkness and bringing them into the Kingdom of the Son who He loves. So yes, we are asking God for a miracle however you want to look at it just as long as it’s a miracle.”

Some might want to slow Chas and Grace down. You know, lower your expectations so you will not be disappointed. But if we are to believe Ephesians 3:20 which Chas quotes above, then are there really truly any unrealistic expectations when it comes to what God can do if He do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine? I think not. Faith, without which it is impossible to please Him, says He is able.

However there are some unrealistic expectations of a leader. I will give you my top 10:
1. That apart from Christ we can do anything. (Jhn 15:5)
2. That our weaknesses as leaders are a bad thing and that His grace is not enough to cover them. (2 Cor 12:9)
3. That as a leader, we will not face troubles, trials, opposition, difficulties, misunderstandings, accusations, betrayals, failures and the like. (2 Cor 11:23-29)
4. That being persecuted is shameful. (Matt 5:10)
5. That titles and what we accomplish mean anything. (Phil 3:4-8)
6. That leading means we call the shots. (Matt 20:25, 26)
7. That others will recognize and appreciate our efforts (2 Cor 6:9)
8. That people -the lost, administration, our teams, our co-leaders, those above us, etc. - are our enemies. (Eph 6:12)
9. That it’s all about us: our giftedness, our skill, our wisdom etc. (1 Cor 3:7)
10. That we fail if we don’t see what we are believing God for by faith. (Heb 11:13-16)